Mexican Startup Calouma Join Capricci Films on Pablo Agüero Thriller ‘Sangria’ (EXCLUSIVE)
By Jamie Lang
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – MEXICO CITY — Capricci Films, the French producer on Argentine director Pablo Agüero’s upcoming comedy-horror project “Sangria,” will be joined by the newly formed, all-female Mexican production company Calouma Films.
“Sangria” turns on Xavier, a carefree Canadian on vacation in Mexico who visits the worship space of a pagan saint. There, he meets beautiful Flor, a superstitious and romantic young woman, if a bit naive. Sparks fly immediately, so when Flor proposes that Xavier engage in a ritual to seal their eternal love, he accepts, amused and curious. But, their idyllic ceremony soon becomes a living nightmare, and Xavier will learn what eternal really means.
According to Agüero, the goal with the film is: “To exploit the subversive potential of horror and comedy in order to explore the darkest contradictions of the human being, with a touch of self-criticism. To use the irony on two great sexist prejudices: the men who consider women as objects of ephemeral pleasure, and women who consider men the incarnations of this perfect family.”
“The protagonist and the spectator are trapped in their own desire,” he added, “They first follow an erotic promise, which suddenly shifts, giving way to horror.”
In addition to their work in production, Calouma is also a distribution agency. Founded in 2017, they started operations in earnest earlier this year, Calouma brings together a group of highly talented and experienced female professionals in production, distribution, sales and marketing to support standout films in finding their audience, domestically and internationally.
“Our objective is to integrate production processes with marketing efforts, to never lose sight of the distribution objective and give independent movies more visibility,” says the company’s mission statement.
The company is helmed by producers Marion d’Ornano, producer of “Go, Youth!” a participant at last month’s Morelia Film Festival, and “Sanctuary,” which won the Tribeca Film Institute prize at Morelia in 2016; and Julia Cherrier who founded the company. Together they produced New York writer John Wray’s short film “Tracer,” and are developing a documentary titled “Life is a Carnival,” a co-production with France’s Ikki Films.
Patagonia born and raised, Agüero made his directorial debut with “Mas allá de las puertas” at just 15, winning the main prize at a local festival, the Patagonian Biennale of art. His 2005 short “Lejos del sol” won best short at Bafici 2005, and in 2006 he won a Cannes Jury prize for his short “Primera nieve.” His debut feature, “Salamandra,” participated at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
